Becoming first time grandpa is best gift for Father’s Day

KIRO Radio's Tony Miner celebrates Father's Day early with the birth of his first grandchild,
8-pound 11-ounce Evan Anthony, born to his daughter Kaity and husband Jeff last Friday night. (Photo courtesy Miner family)

Well look at us now.

My generation of baby boomers, who once said things like “don’t trust anybody over 30” and “hope I die before I get old”, are now becoming grandparents.

What a long strange trip it’s been, indeed.

“It’s so true,” said Sally Koslow, an author, former editor-in-chief of McCalls magazine and columnist for grandparents.com.

“I don’t think anyone my age, and I’m a traditional baby boomer, ever really pictured themselves as a grandmother or grandfather because we’re the generation who never thought we’d get old. But we are becoming grandparents and we’re surprising ourselves by really loving the experience.”

Koslow says getting to see your child as a mother or father is deeply touching.

She says “you get to re-live the experience of being a mother or father, but it’s almost as if you’re doing it in slow motion. That’s because you don’t have the everyday, hands-on experience that can drive you nuts, you’re probably not deprived of sleep, you don’t have to worry about the grandchild’s every need. It’s really delightful.”

Koslow says our parental instincts may make us want to offer advice to our kids on how to raise their kids, but we need to fight that. “You’re not the mother, you’re not the father, so you really have to respect your children’s intelligence and good intentions. Try not be be cantankerous and do be accepting, if they do things you wouldn’t have done.”

Koslow also adds that some things have stayed the same about child raising, but other things have changed a lot. “For example when I had my children we used to put them to bed on their tummies. Now with links to crib death, you always place the baby to bed on their backs.”

And as we approach Father’s Day, Koslow says “it’s such a treat being able to re-live being a parent, and the cherry on top is being able to see your own child be a wonderful parent.”

And the best Father’s Day gift for me is 8-pound 11-ounce Evan Anthony, born to my daughter Kaity and husband Jeff last Friday night.